woman_who_sees wrote: DH and I are volunteering this winter at Hagerman NWR, in northern Texas near the Oklahoma border. It gets pretty cold and windy there in the winter. What can we do to keep our class A motorhome warm and toasty? Our storage areas are not heated. Should we insulate them? What should we do about the floors since they get quite cold in the winter?
I live in the same area you are coming to (south of Sherman,TX) and have full-timed in my Class A the last 2 winters.
You will need supplemental heat. The onboard furnace is noisy and a propane hog. It is great for a quick warmup and as back-up heat for cold nights. I have used a thermostat controlled oil radiator, a forced fan ceramic and one of those Big Buddy propane heaters. If the NWR is supplying electricity I would go that route. If you have an additional 20A circuit on the power pedestal, I would run a heavy gauge extension cord inside the MH to service the ceramic or oil bath heater. The Big Buddy heater provides the most heat IMHO but the Safety Police are gonna beat on you since technically, they are not supposed to be used in confined areas. Closing off the rear of the coach when you are using the space heaters works great to keep things cozy.
Your bays are going to get some heat transfer from the coach. Warm floors, holes for pipes, etc. I supplement that heat on the coldest nights with a 40w bulb in the compartments. Get those trouble lights with the shield around them.
Forget about your water hose connection on the colder nights. It is gonna freeze. Simply drain it and hang it up where it can drain and run off your onboard tank for the duration of the cold snap.
The wind blows in Texas . Make sure your window and door seals are in good shape. I also found a can of that spray foam insulation works well when you identify the under belly draft locations.
My brother always has trouble right after the first cold snap with mice coming in his fifth wheel looking for a warm spot. Some traps put out after the first cold weather and BEFORE you see any mouse sign work well. I have never had that problem.
I also have 2 40lb aux propane tanks and an Extend a Stay plumbed into the onboard tank. I would not be without it for overwintering in the RV. I use the aux tanks for daily use and swap them out when one is empty. The onboard tank is full and reserved for emergency use.
From my two Colorado winters in a 3-season MH, you've gotten excellent seminars here already. We've been to zero degrees with no trouble by doing many of the things already mentioned.
Incandescent lights give off a lot of heat, and will keep your plumbing compartment and food storages above freezing. Heat tape on the water hose is required. Good quality electric space heaters are effective and safe if maintained. A carpeted plywood cover over the entry steps makes a huge difference.
An electric blanket is a cheap and easy way to not care if it gets BRRR in the coach at 3 AM. If you do what's been suggested, and during the first cold snap pay close attention to how your coach is handling it, you should be able to do what many of us do. Good luck.
Here's a link to the insulation that was mentioned in one of the posts: Reflectix . It is easy to work with (Measuring tape, scissors, duct tape, staple gun, hot melt glue ). I've insulated all of my storage areas that are on outside walls and pulled the paneling out on the outside walls of the closets and lined that too. I had plexiglass cut to fit over 2 windows in the bedroom and used hook & loop tape to fasten them in place. I also made a cover for the large front window using the Reflectix and hook & loop tape to hold it place. Others have mentioned skirting using using blue foam insulation boards and that would be smart. Adding a couple of 100W light bulbs underneath there to turn on when the temps drop down and stay down would be good.
'90 GMC R2500 7.4L
'90 Avion 34V
Reese Dual Cam HP
Prodigy
These are all good suggestions for keeping warm. Remember also that you need to keep condensation from building up inside the Coach. A small dehumidifier will help.
Just a comment on what Ajones said about the Safety Police and Buddy heaters not supposed to be used in confined spaces. That is very misleading. A Buddy Heater is certified for use in areas where people are. They have a oxygen depletion sensor that shuts them off if the level gets below safe limits. It has a tip over shut off. The instructions with the heaters define how big a area of fresh air opening is required. For a Buddy Heater it is a area equal to a 3" diameter circle. For a Big Buddy heater a 4" circle equivelent. I have both. We crack a roof vent a little and that meets the air requirement.
Heating living space is what they are made for and they do a great job.
Jim
Jim, Sharon and Buddy the Yorkie
1999 Gulfstream Sun Voyager 31' ISB Cummins 210 uprated to 275
275 RV injectors
Trippe-Lite 1800w inverter 4-6v GC batteries
3- Kyocera 130w solar panels
1987 Suzuki Samurai tintop Toad w/VW 1.6 turbo diesel power
We use our 5er off and on all year long also. We never use our 5ers Furance at all. We instead use a Mr Heater, ( have 2 ) and a Wave #6 Propane Heater all of the time. All of our vents are power vents, and can also be used with their lids closed, and used just like regular Ceiling Fans to help move the heated air around the inside of our 5er more evenly. We also leave two vents open for fresh air. We also have Maxxi-Vent Covers on all of our vents. I also took the time to make sure that any place the heat could get out, or cold air enter, was sealed up tight. We also use throw rugs on the floors. Our 5er is by no means an all season 5er. But does have a little extra insulation in the ceiling compared to most older 5ers. We have been down well below the freezing mark, and down below the Zero Mark and have stayed perfectly comfortable. The use of Mr Heaters, and the Wave Heaters will save you a lot of money on Propane costs, and save your battries as well. Which means a lot less generator time. Our Fresh Water Tank is inside of our 5er, so we don't have to worry about any water freezing issues. It has worked for us for many years now. Of coares it is easier for us to keep our 5er very comnfortable, due to its size. I did spend a full winter in Prineville, Oregon quite a few years ago, in an older TT. I would never ever try that again as long as I live. As there really isn't much you can really do, but to be very cold, when temps reach down to the -30 to -40 Below Zero Mark. Good Luck. Happy Camping. Dan & Jill
1997 Ford F-250, H.D. Extended-Cab, Short Bed, 7.3 PSD, K&N Air Filter, 5000 lbs air bags w/on board compressor w/guage, SuperChips Tuner/Programer. 1996 Nash 24fter 5er, 15K "Lil" Rocker Hitch w/BedSaver, Twin EU2000i Gen's W/Kit. Nam-Vet, 33 Months.
Thank you all for your replies. They are greatly appreciated. We have a cat and a bird and although the cat and Bill and I can take care of ourselves when it gets cold, the bird can't. We don't want her to freeze at night so we keep it a little warmer than it needs to be.
Question: we are looking into buying a Sungard Windshield Cover to try to keep the heat in. Has anyone ever used one? Any advice?
Bill (DH), Jan (DW), Alex (DCat), and Sunshine(DBird)
Because the beds are usually on a slide and/or atop an uninsulated box over the open undersides of the MH, they stay cold until your body heat warms the spot where you are sleeping. The cool mattress does not seem to bother DH, but I can not fall asleep if I am cold.
Solution, plush pile throws on top of the bottom sheet. They will warm up fast from your body heat and with a nice goose down comforter on top, you will be toasty all night.
jauguston wrote: Just a comment on what Ajones said about the Safety Police and Buddy heaters not supposed to be used in confined spaces. That is very misleading. A Buddy Heater is certified for use in areas where people are. They have a oxygen depletion sensor that shuts them off if the level gets below safe limits. It has a tip over shut off. The instructions with the heaters define how big a area of fresh air opening is required. For a Buddy Heater it is a area equal to a 3" diameter circle. For a Big Buddy heater a 4" circle equivelent. I have both. We crack a roof vent a little and that meets the air requirement.
Heating living space is what they are made for and they do a great job.
Jim
Misleading? I think not. It comes up here all the time. For example:
"If you have a Mr. Buddy heater, read this from their website.
Please note: The Portable Buddy is Certified for Outdoor Use Only In Canada
Are you saying that if I cross the border with one that suddenly it will become unsafe? For all of those who claim that the Buddy heaters are unsafe, please show us a news article where someone has been hurt or killed when using one *properly* indoors. As popular as these heaters are, you'd be hearing reports all the time about people being hurt or killed if they were the least bit dangerous. I'm not saying this because I have one. I don't (and I have no intention of buying one). Its just that some people seem to have an almost phobic bias against them. Again, if these people can back up their concerns with hard evidence, I'm all ears. Whether or not the buddy is certified for indoor use in another country tells me nothing about how safe it is. Now, if it were illegal to use the Buddy indoors in Canada, that would be useful information, but only because people travelling into Canada with one probably wouldn't want to be breaking the law."
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. Make sure your window and door seals are in good shape. I also found a can of that spray foam insulation works well when you identify the under belly draft locations. 
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